


Puppy Dog Eyes

by bastet_in_april



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 13:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastet_in_april/pseuds/bastet_in_april
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lian wants a puppy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puppy Dog Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://coldfiredragon.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://coldfiredragon.livejournal.com/)**coldfiredragon** ’s Summer of Clichés Fic-a-thon. Silly fluff.

Roy knew nothing good would come of Show and Tell day.

Having to explain to Lian that the school would frown on bringing projectile weapons to class, no matter how careful Lian was with the small bow Grampa Ollie had given her and how good she was at hitting what she aimed at and nothing else, had been the first problem. _This_ particular complication, however, Roy had not seen coming.

Big green eyes stared up at him, trying to impress upon Roy the sincerity of Lian’s enthusiasm for her topic. “And Kim taught him how to fetch and to catch a Frisbee in the air when she threw it to him! And he had a floppy ear and his paws were so big that he kept tripping over them! And he licked my face and he was so cute! And, Daddy, can I have a puppy, _please?_ ”

“Please, Daddy?”

Roy tried not to flinch at the pleading look Lian directed at him. He sighed. Okay, he could handle this. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Every kid asks for a pet at some point, right? “I don’t know, Dart,” he said. “Puppies are a lot of work. It’s like having a baby in the house. I know you’re very responsible, Lian, but puppies need a lot of care and attention. I’m out of the house a lot and you have school. I’m just not sure we have time to raise a puppy,” he finished gently, hating how Lian’s face crumpled in disappointment. She was quiet for a moment, considering his words.

“What about a grown up dog, daddy?” Lian offered hopefully, perfectly willing to compromise if it meant she might be allowed a pet. “It would already be mostly trained and it wouldn’t need us here to watch it constantly.”

Roy ruffled Lian’s hair. “That’s a good suggestion, honey,” he said, “and something to think about. No promises, all right, Dart?” Roy cautioned. “But we’ll see.”

*****

Think about it, Roy did. Lian didn’t press him on the issue, but it was clearly never far from her mind. The refrigerator was quickly becoming plastered with watercolor and marker pictures of dogs that Lian brought home from art class or drew whenever she visited with her Uncle Kyle. The brightly colored dogs stared at him every morning, as he blearily went about making coffee for himself, and watched from the fridge as he helped Lian with her homework while making dinner each evening. Lian had developed a habit of pointing out every dog they passed while in the car to and from the school or the store. Roy now knew the name of every single dog in their neighborhood and which neighbor they belonged to. Lian wanted to hear bedtime stories about dogs and had watched animated movies featuring dogs about a dozen times since she had first broached the issue of a puppy with him.

When Roy got back from a long mission with the JLA and heard a playful yip from the living room, he assumed that Lian had decided to watch one of the dog movies again to make it a generous baker’s dozen viewings. He moved tiredly to his bedroom stowing his costume and gear and making sure all his equipment was properly put away, before doubling back towards the living room to greet Lian, and Dick, who had been watching her while Roy was gone. He sighed, listening to the loud puppy noises mixing with Lian’s giggles from the living room, and felt the tension draining slowly out of his shoulders as he settled into the comfort of being home again.

When Roy got to the doorway of the living room, he realized his assumption that Lian was watching a movie had been a bit premature. The puppy noises he had been coming, not from the television, which was not even turned on, but from the dog that was yipping happily, while Roy’s daughter gestured her hands through the air, urging it to, “Jump! Jump!”

The dog did, shooting straight up into the air, improbably, again and again, as if it had springs for legs, its tongue lolling out of it’s mouth in a doggy grin. Lian clapped her hands, laughing.

“Lian…” Roy said slowly, rubbing his right temple.

Lian, who had been absorbed in the dog, started guiltily, spinning to face the doorway. “ I thought we were going to wait see about getting a dog, Dart?” Roy asked, eyeing the dog warily, wondering how his daughter had managed to get her hands on it. The dog cocked its head, watching Roy back.

“I know, Daddy!” Lian rushed to explain. “I didn’t mean to! I just wanted a dog so badly…” She gestured in the dog’s direction. The dog whined, its tail thumping once against the carpet. “It was an accident!”

Roy shook his head. “How is a dog an accident, Lian?” he asked, beginning to feel a bit exasperated. This was not what he had been planning on coming home to after his mission. And speaking of what he had planned to come home to, where was Dick? Roy wasn’t entirely surprised that Dick had caved on the dog issue, but the man should have at least had the decency to be in the room for Roy to glare at when he got home and found a dog in his house. Roy frowned. “Lian, honey, where is your Uncle Dick?”

Lian flushed, looking guiltily in the direction of the dog, which was sitting calmly on the rug watching them, that doggy grin still on its face. Roy followed his daughter’s gaze to the dog, which barked once and began wagging its tail happily as it bounced to its feet.

Roy stared at the dog. The dog stared back with big blue eyes, tongue lolling happily out of its mouth.

“Oh,” Roy said blankly. “I’ll just go call Zatanna then.”

Really, Roy reflected, he should have just given in the first time his daughter had asked for a puppy. Even being kept up all night by a howling puppy or finding shoes or doorframes with teeth marks in them had to be less of a headache than this.  



End file.
